Week 2: Connect our students with activities

I am a social worker. I should be good at this. Connecting students and others with activities!  And, I like to do this. In fact, this is one of my favorite things.  Connecting students and others with activities and other people and seeing them like the activities, flourish, grow, and do things and make connections I would have never thought of.

I have to give my father, Dr. Dan C. Holliman, lots of credit for inspiring me and showing me how to do this. He was a Professor and Field Biologist at Birmingham-Southern College and in Alabama. One of the things he loved was taking students and interested people on field trips. Real field trips-actually out in fields-to Dauphin Island and Mentone, Alabama, to the Black Belt of Central Alabama named for the rich and dark color of the soil, to Lake Guntersville to see Bald Eagles, to Wheeler Wildlife refuge, and even to the Galapagos Islands. My mother didn’t have the enthusiasm for these field trips that others did, but that is part of the story—the drama, the narrative and the way it plays out when you are “Connecting students (and others) with activities.”

This semester I am happy to see “Connect our students with activities” as one of the “Seven things we can all do for retention.” Because to connect students with activities you need support. You don’t do this by yourself. You need support and affirmation from your colleagues, department heads, Deans and people throughout the university.  When you connect students with activities you may use your instructional time to do this or you may ask students to do things out of class which means they take their time, and this could be time away from other classes.

Communication and planning are key.  It is important to give the students time to plan, and maybe giving them an assignment or extra credit incentive that doesn’t compromise the rigor of your course. And, in my experience I almost always give my faculty, staff and administrative colleagues information about what I am connecting the students with, when it is, where it is, and how it ties to the course outcomes and goals. The activities need to be supported by the university and educationally solid. Sometimes colleagues think it is a great idea and they are willing to help and be a part of what you are doing and other times you just inform your colleagues and administrators about it and at least they know about it. You can always ask for feedback from them, but if what you love is not what they love, there is no reason to change your plans for connecting students with activities.  Go for it! Keep connecting students with activities.  And, then listen to their feedback and learn afterwards.

And, about these activities, this has been a busy week. Valdosta State University had The Happening today and several of my colleagues and students attended. We even had an MSW program tent.  I didn’t attend. I am preparing for a Grant writing & Program Development workshop that I am doing on Saturday, and another thing I’ve learned with all these activities-you can’t do everything. There are a lot of wonderful and educational things out there to do. Like the Reader’s Theater next week and the webinars offered by Criminal Justice—I have MSW students participating, and I am so happy to see them take initiative in engagement and leadership.  They are our future! They will do the things we only dream of doing.

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